At the very minimum there is a full GCMS check, which will include a name-record check in at least the RCMP and U.S. criminal record data-bases.
Beyond that I am not sure what background checks are done. My sense is that there is a difference between what is always done (which, as I said, is at minimum the equivalent of a name-record check in the RCMP and FBI/NCIC databases, which reflects arrests and dispositions, such as convictions or dismissals) and what might be done for a given applicant (for example, a hit in the name-records databases might trigger a more thorough background check).
